


30 Days of Supergirl

by AnotherAverageAuthor



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Angst, Multi, Non-Canonical Character Death, Romance, holy whackamole i actually added some angst, i need some angst to spice things up, so much lovey dovey stuff, theres been a lot of romance so far, too much angst?, yuckk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-31
Updated: 2018-12-01
Packaged: 2019-08-13 21:20:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 31
Words: 13,209
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16479953
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnotherAverageAuthor/pseuds/AnotherAverageAuthor
Summary: I made this on a whim. Hopefully I’ll actually do it properly this time.Tags/charachters/relationships will update with the story.





	1. Calling

**Author's Note:**

> The credit for this prompt list goes to katemotaung.com 
> 
> I found it on Google and it’s actually an October thing, but no matter there.

The apartment had been empty for months.

Alex had been dreading this day for almost as long.

Kara had invited her out, but she couldn’t stomach it. Couldn’t fathom the idea of Christmas without Maggie. She knew that she would have to come out of the house eventually, she’d have to leave the whiskey behind in favour of pretending to be happy, but five more minutes would be ok.

A lot of people said that all she needed was to get back out there, but how could she when all she could think about were Maggie’s mile-deep dimples. She knew she should have moved on by now, but she had been so happy. She had felt like she could finally be who she was, and the way she was meant to be, and she could do it with someone who loved her. 

But it had all been a dream. It had slipped through her fingers so fast that she hadn’t had the time to drink it in.

She’d had to go and, and fuck it all up. Did she even want kids? What was the point if it meant she had to be miserable about almost everything else?  _ Was it worth throwing away her only ambition from her childhood to be with the woman she loved? _

Her phone buzzed and, thinking it was Kara, Alex ignored it. She took another sip of her drink and sighed as she felt it wash down her throat, burning all of her thoughts away.

Kara might not be alright with it, but she didn’t understand. She’d never been through what Alex had. She’d never felt heartbreak so strong that all she wanted to do was curl up into a ball and never move again. Even though she had lost her entire planet, sent her boyfriend into space for an undefined amount of time to save the city,  _ said goodbye to so much. _

Maybe Kara was a bad example.

Her phone finished ringing and she heard the familiar voice greeting play out, just as it had, over and over for the past week.

_ Hi, you’ve reached Alex Danvers. I’m probably busy but I’ll get back to you as soon as I can. _

And then the beep. That noise had defined so much of her life for so long. Ignoring her mother, ignoring her sister, ignoring her friends. The list went on. Every single time, the loud, monotone sound had been the only noise in her empty apartment. Alex rarely played music anymore.

Alex was ready to mouth along with Kara’s usual message, the one she left everytime she called Alex, when a different voice made her start.

Kara hadn’t been the one calling.

The voice was one that she could recognise absolutely anywhere. 

It was Maggie.

_ Hey Alex. Look, I know you’re probably busy, what with Christmas Eve and everything, and I know it’s been a while, but I just wanted to know if you would wanna maybe catch up? As friends. Call me back if you get the chance. _

Alex threw her glass of scotch against the wall.

  
  



	2. Boat (5 min)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So today was a five minute challenge, hence the very short addition. These happen every Friday and I hope to all that is sacred I get better at them bc this is cheesy as fuck and I hate it.
> 
> Also it's 1am

Lena had been practically raised on the water.

Sailing had been her one sweet release from the pressure of being a Luthor. It was where she could concentrate on not sinking, and think about whatever the fuck she wanted. And the moment that Kara realised this, she wanted in.

Lena was all too happy to share, of course. If getting out on a boat by herself was nice, it would be so much better with her girlfriend.

She sat on the front, watching as Kara’s blonde hair billowed behind her, rippling heroically in the wind.

Lena could sit and watch Kara smile, with her eyes as bright as day, her face lighting up even the cloudiest of mornings.

Even the days when it was too cold, and Lena’s breath came out in steaming clouds, and she didn't feel like getting up, Kara made it all worth it. 


	3. Capture

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you're into cheese.

“Dude, look how pretty the sunset is!”

Alex’s head turned back, watching Maggie stop to look out over the cliff. The light washed over both of them, the trees casting  a speckled, warm glow over the ground, Maggie’s body outlined in a halo of golden light.

”Yeah, it’s beautiful.” Alex said, not taking her eyes off her girlfriend. 

Maggie’s eyes were reflecting the sunlight and her hair blew gently behind her, the wind rustling the leaves and Alex’s own hair. 

Finally turning to look across the water, Alex had to admit. It was beautiful. The sun dipped into the horizon, the light sitting calmly on the ocean. There weren’t many waves - it was windy, but not wild enough to surf. The water lapped calmly onto the sand, which was almost completely deserted. It looked almost perfect.

Alex was about to start moving again, she needed to be back soon to get to work, whereas Maggie had the day off and clearly had not a care for the world, when an arm grabbed hers, stopping her.

Soft fingers closed tightly on Alex, the pressure forcing her to turn, a questioning smile on her face.

”Where do you think you’re going, missy?” Maggie asked, pulling Alex closer until their faces were inches apart.

”Mmm,” Alex said, smiling broadly. Maggie was such a goob. “I was just getting a head start on you. You’re honestly so tall that I need at least a good five minutes.”

Maggie punched her (not so) lightly on the arm, but pulled her in even closer anyway. Their lips met in a familiar pattern, one fitting against the other so perfectly that they barely had to even think about it anymore.

Alex knew. She was so aware, hypersensitised to the fact that _Maggie was her girlfriend._  She was with someone so incredibly smart, and funny and passionate and so, so beautiful. So amazing.

She knew that she had to be the luckiest person alive.

When they broke apart, Maggie turned back to the cliff, wide grin still evident on her face.

”Take a picture.”

Alex pulled out her phone, knowing exactly what Maggie wanted. But she found that even as she pointed the camera at the incredible sunset, her hands, magically, steered her back to her more incredible girlfriend.

_Huh, strange._

Deciding that every sign was pointing in that direction, Alex took the photo, laughing when Maggie jumped at the sound of the digital shutter.

”Wait, no. Let me get out of the way first.”

“No. Mags, it’s perfect.”


	4. Embrace

Kara had come out first.

She’d told Winn what being bi meant before he knew himself. That it meant that she liked guys and girls. She’d said that he was the first person she’d wanted to tell because he would be understanding and considerate. That he had always been there for her in the past and that she knew she could trust him with such a big secret.

It had been the worst form of friendzoning he could’ve gotten.

Then there was Lena, who never actually came out to anyone, but honestly, no one was surprised when she and Kara became an item. Winn didn't have very good gaydar, but even his spidey-senses had been tingling around her.

Alex had been next, which Winn had to admit had come as a bit of a shock. He had never been able to imagine her with anyone at all, but she was like his big sister. He’d known her as one way for years, but then he'd seen how happy she was with Maggie, and it had gotten him thinking.

He  _ knew _ that his thing for Superman hadn't been just pure admiration.

Thinking back, Winn could remember times when he'd been just a little too interested in boys to be considered straight. Times all through middle and high school when he'd looked at certain guys, thinking about how attractive they were and even, on one memorable occasion, wondering what his male English teacher would be like in bed. It had been a gross phase.

Plus there was, whatever there was with Mon-El, which even Winn wasn't convinced was a thing.

But his feelings for Kara had been too strong, his *thing* with Siobhan too passionate, and his relationship with Lyra too meaningful for him to be gay. Plus, whenever he thought about it, the word didn't work. He didn't feel ‘gay.’

So being bi had made sense. It worked for him and he was alright with that. He'd learnt from the people around him that he needed to accept who he was, and that was the easiest way to do it. Admit to himself that he liked guys.

It wasn't as easy at it sounded. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's all good. I cringed at the English teacher part too.
> 
> If you'd like, you could drop a comment and let me know what you think about this thing, it would be very much appreciated by me. 
> 
> :)


	5. Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just note that I rarely look over these enough to constitute a proper edit until the day after they're posted, so if they're any mistakes or spelling errors or anything like that, bear with me because I'm relying solely on Grammarly.

Alex hadn’t been home in a while.

Eliza had called. Loads of times. But Alex had always been busy. Saving Kara, helping Kara save everyone else, doing things with Maggie - it was all one big mess.

But there was a lapse in Supergirl related problems and Maggie’s day off just happened to coincide perfectly with the weekend, so Kara had arranged a two-day holiday back to Midvale.

Alex had thought it was a great idea at the time, but now that she was here, out the front of their massive home, bags in tow, she wasn’t so sure. Especially since Maggie would be seeing her - or rather, her’s and Kara’s - childhood bedroom, filled with things that were personal to her. Things she hadn’t ever even shown her sister.

Maggie would see the beach that Alex spent an unhealthy amount of time at to get away from the house, away from Eliza and the reality that faced her when she returned home. She’d see the coves the Alex would go to so that she could finish her homework in peace and quiet, and the town that was filled with quaint bookstores and bakeries that Alex used to visit every few days.

And if Alex didn’t show her, Kara most definitely would.

It felt like she was opening up a whole other side to herself, one that no one had ever clapped their prying eyes on.

It was something she wasn’t ready for.

Kara would say she was being silly. That there was virtually no chance Maggie would shut her out just because of child Alex with her weird punk rock phases and horror movies. They’d been through too much for that to be a big deal.

Kara would also tell her not to pressure herself into doing something she didn’t want to do, so Alex didn’t know what to believe anymore.

“Alex?” Maggie asked, taking a few bags from the ground next to J’onn’s convertible, right where Alex had left them.

Alex turned to Maggie, grimacing. “Sorry, I just zoned out for a second.”  
  
Maggie didn’t say anything, just moved to stand by Alex’s side, gazing at the house on the hill.

“Don’t be. I just,” She paused, looking back to Alex, watching her eyes. “You don’t seem very excited to be here, that’s all.”  
  
Alex shook her head quickly. “No, no, that’s not… I am excited. Just, overthinking things a bit.”   
  
Before Maggie could answer, Kara came bursting through the front door, a delighted expression on her face. She’d flown up before Alex and Maggie, waiting to give them space and time to enjoy the trip together.

“Alex!” Kara yelled, sprinting down the front steps and throwing her arms around Alex, very nearly knocking her over in her excitement.

Alex laughed, rubbing circulation back into her arms when Kara finally let go. “Hello to you too. Last I checked, we saw you, what,” She looked at Maggie for confirmation, who just laughed. “Three hours ago?”  
  
Kara looked sheepish enough that Maggie took pity on her. “Come on, Alex. She probably missed you. You are irresistible after all."   
  
Gagging loudly, Kara turned away from them and pretended to vomit.   
  
“You are an honest to God child, I swear.”

Maggie laughed, watching Kara grab their bags in one arm as though they weighed nothing and bolt back up the stairs. She took Alex’s hand and pulled her closer, kissing her very gently.

Maybe, just maybe, everything would be fine.


	6. Possible

When things came down to it, Lena was a bit of a pessimist. 

But, she was a Luthor. She couldn’t help it. She had been raised to think the worst until the best could be proved, which was a pretty shit way of thinking.

She’d always liked to think that she was nothing like her adoptive family and that their evil ways hadn’t rubbed off on her, which they hadn’t, but certain things had to be taken into account.

Lena couldn’t have lived with such corrupt people for so long to not have one negative thing rub off on her. So in all fairness, she was glad that a negative outlook on the future was the one that had stayed with her. It could’ve been much worse.

To put it bluntly, Lena was a genius. Even growing up, she’d been top of her class from kindergarten all the way through high school. Everything she did was done with logic, precision and certainty.

Which meant that Lena knew that it was impossible to fly. When she watched Superman flying around, protecting Metropolis from danger after danger, somehow managing to rarely ever get hurt, she understood that it was physically impossible, Krypton be damned.

Quantum entanglement was a thing, which made teleportation possible (kind of) and meant that the previously thought impossible was no longer limited to other-worldly beings. Invisibility, electricity and planes were all thought of as impossible at one point. But all it took in all of those cases was someone to believe that it was  _ possible _ . Except maybe the aliens.

But the point that should’ve been taken, Lena thought, was not that anything is possible, because that’s just simply not true. Some things, like turning a pumpkin into a carriage and the next Game of Thrones novel were actually impossible.

But other things, like friendship, family and the love between a Super and a Luthor, things that Lena all had once thought impossible, turned out to be not so unattainable after all.


	7. Love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This wasn't the most conventional use of love, but it would've been so boring otherwise and I wasn't in the mood for that.

Maggie needed to make a good first impression.

Kara was Alex’s sister, and by the unofficial lesbian rules, Kara and Maggie had to get along. Plus, Alex and Kara were so close and were such good friends that Maggie knew there was a chance that if Kara didn’t like her, Alex’s own opinions might change, even if she didn’t mean them too or realise it.

Being gay was difficult.

Maggie had asked Alex for advice because the only thing she really knew about Kara was that she likes food. Which couldn’t a very big factor in her life unless she was some kind of national hot dog eating champion.

When Maggie told Alex this, Alex had just laughed, only causing Maggie’s worry to skyrocket.

Alex had said to relax, the pizza and potstickers they’d ordered would be enough, but Maggie wasn’t so sure. How could a takeout dinner be enough to suffice such an incredible young woman?

This was more stressful than anytime she’d ever met a girlfriend’s parents.

Alex reassured her over and over again so many times that it would be fine, so much that Maggie was beginning to think that she was joking.

“Maybe we need like, a box of chocolates or something?”

“Maggie, hun. It’s going to be  _ alright _ . She’s going to love you.” 

But when the delivery man from the Chinese restaurant showed up holding three huge, bulging bags that Maggie couldn’t help but notice Alex paid almost seventy dollars for, she was completely convinced that it was all some sick ruse designed to make Maggie highly uncomfortable. And it was working.

Yet Alex was still smiling along, not even flinching when three (large) pizzas arrived at her door.

Something fishy was going on.

“Al, why the fuck is there so much food?”

Alex smiled, almost as though she was trying not to laugh. “Kara eats a lot.”

“I gathered that much.”

There was a knock at Alex’s door and Maggie’s stomach dropped again. Kara had arrived. Alex grabbed her arm and pulled her closer, whispering into her ear, “Go to the bathroom if you want and come out whenever you’re ready.”   


But before Maggie could leave, Alex tightened her grip on her hand, smiling gently.

“She’s going to love you.”


	8. Evolution

”Hey Danvers, ” Maggie said, sliding into the seat next to Alex.

The lecture theatre was almost empty, Alex liked to get there early. Maggie had taken to showing up at almost the same time just so they could hang out without the guilt of not doing homework.

It was an odd arrangement, Alex had to admit. But it worked for their odd friendship.

”What's up, Sawyer?”

”Do you think sharks will ever learn how to walk on land?”

Alex stopped setting up her books and stared at Maggie.

”Maggie, what the fuck.” 

Maggie didn't seem concerned but dropped her own books unceremoniously on the desk in front of her and dropped her head into her hands, staring at Alex.

”I mean, think of it from an evolutionary point of view. Those things went from bits of bacteria in the ocean to terrifying machines of death.”

”Yeah, but over hundreds of millions of years. I think it's entirely possible, but you're out of luck if you want to see a walking shark anytime soon.”

Maggie shrugged, seemingly unperturbed by the fact that her biggest life goal would never be realised.

”Maybe you're right, Danvers. But we can literally grow people now. Who's to say we won't be growing sharks with legs?”

Alex sighed as the professor walked into the room, already looking up at the two of them, knowing that Maggie would probably talk there entire time if no one stopped her.

”I’m pretty sure that walking sharks aren't scientists number one priority at this very moment.”

The professor called for quiet, making Maggie wink at Alex. She leaned over and whispered in her ear, ”You wanna be a scientist right?”

When Alex nodded, Maggie continued, ”I reckon you could make it happen if you wanted to.”

Alex just shook her head, concealing an amused smile. God, Maggie was so weird.


	9. Jurisdiction (5 min)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woop, another five minute Friday. I think this one went a bit better considering it isn't one am this time.

Maggie couldn't get her mind off that girl. The one that had come into her crime scene - Danvers, she’d thought her name was - and told her off, bagged everything wrong and driven off in her fancy CIA black Sudan.

_ Damn.  _

This girl, with her short red hair, her snarky comments and her annoyed tone had slipped her way into Maggie’s mind, making her laugh quietly in the middle of her briefing the day after. 

She knew that, whatever happened next, somehow, this woman and her incompetent assistants would find her. The next alien case that came up, the ones that Maggie was always assigned to, she would be there. 

Maggie paused. She thought about what she knew about the CIA. Normally, Maggie would have been allowed to work with them. Danvers shouldn't have been able to kick her off the case.

A thought, another organisation entered her mind.

Turning her browser to private, just in case, she typed ’DEO’ into the search bar.


	10. Ready

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a lot of fun with this one. You could probably tell, it's a bit longer than the other ones but hey, whatever works is cool.

When Alex and Maggie finally arrived at the bar, they were late.

Almost an hour late.

Alex had been back late from work and they’d caught up doing, _things_ , and after they’d finally managed to get ready, Maggie’s bike had broken down.

So when they managed to get there, Alex more stressed than either of them liked, they were both understandably frustrated.

The air felt colder than it actually was, the wind harsher and the ambient street noise sounded ten times louder.

Maggie was almost ready to call it quits and just go home, but tonight was important to Alex, and Maggie wanted to meet Winn just as much as Alex wanted her to.

So she squared her shoulders and let herself be pulled inside the building.

As soon as the door opened, they were blasted with the riff of what Maggie immediately recognized as Livin’ On A Prayer - her father might have been conservative, but he wasn’t a savage - and instantly, her mood was lifted. It was just something about old school rock that made Maggie want to jump on top of a semi-truck with a flamethrower and declare war on the government.

When the bridge finished, a voice she didn’t recognise came pounding through the walls of the short corridor behind the bar that they were in and she realised, with a jolt of excitement, it had to be karaoke night.   
  
Maggie wasn’t a singer by any means, but she loved watching other people do it. Karaoke night was an event she’d attended almost religiously throughout college, but it had dropped off the radar slightly after she’d joined the police force.

But now that she was here, with a pounding bass shaking the ceiling and lights dancing enticingly from around the corner, Maggie was reminded of why she loved it so much.

Whoever it was, the man who was singing was good. The song had somehow been taken up in key and he was nailing all of the high notes, which was honestly impressive. Alex apparently realised what was happening and started moving even faster, tugging Maggie’s arm harder and muttering _“Shit, shit, shit, shit, we’re so late, shit…”_ under her breath.

Just as they turned the corner, another voice, female this time, joined in and Maggie paused. She knew _that_ voice. 

It was Kara.

When they finally emerged into the comfortably crowded bar, Maggie’s eyes were immediately drawn to the stage.   
  
Stood atop it was indeed Kara, who was belting her ass off and harmonizing perfectly with a man who Maggie recognized as Winn from photos on Kara’s Instagram and such. Maggie stopped dead, gaping at the two on stage.

“That’s Winn?” Maggie asked, knowing exactly what the answer was going to be.

“Yeah,” Alex said, her voice full of admiration of the kind you only feel about a younger sibling.

Winn was wearing a plaid shirt, buttoned up one too many, his body moving wildly with his voice and looking somehow both cool and like a forty-year-old dad at the same time. Kara had on a mustard yellow dress that Maggie was sure would have looked horrible on anyone but her.

“They’re really good.”

“Yeah, I know.” Alex said, dropping at a seat next to her. “I had to listen to it all the time growing up.”

Maggie couldn’t take her eyes off of the duo, watching as they absolutely destroyed their last note and turned to each other, congratulating each other and hugging tightly as the bar erupted in applause.

“They’re regulars,” Alex whispered as people started screaming for an encore.

Kara spotted them in the audience and waved enthusiastically at them, jumping off the stage and running over as fast as she could in her heels. The crowd booed good-naturedly at her and she laughed, bowing vigorously.

“All righty, you folks up for some more?” Winn asked, adjusting the microphone to fit his surprisingly smaller stature. The crowd cheered, yelling random Bon Jovi and Queen suggestions. He shook his head, gesturing to Kara who seemed to know exactly what he meant and she ran off to the song booth.

A song that Maggie vaguely recognized came over the speakers. She knew immediately that is was from Hairspray, but she couldn’t name it off the top of her head. Maggie wasn’t completely up to date with the musicals, but when it came to Hairspray, she was an expert. It seemed Kara knew it exactly what it was because she came back to the table, greeting Maggie warmly all while bopping her head intensely to the opening of the song.

The crowd roared with laughter and Maggie, confused, stopped watching Kara and looked up to see what they were laughing at.

Somehow, Winn had managed to procure a pair of six-inch sparkly red heels from somewhere and put them on in the space of about four seconds. His body swung dangerously as he navigated his way back to the centre with a surprisingly professional grace. He leaned forward and whispered into the mic.  
  
“Are y’all ready?”

The audience clapped and cheered their approval and Winn smiled giddily, clapping along with the beat before he started to sing.

 _“_ _They came from way far out, outer space_

 _She's hard to miss so they landed on her face.”_ _  
_

It was Cooties. He was singing Cooties.

Alex shook her head in disbelief, apparently also recognizing the song and Kara yelled, pumping her fists as if she was at a rock concert. _  
_

It was the best introduction to Winn Schott that Maggie could have possibly received.  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuO9TGNetDg  
> -3:10-
> 
>  
> 
> (also for a fun jeremy jordan moment, check 1:47)


	11. Rest

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: this chapter is based around a major non-cannon character death. if that's a problem, please don't read ahead, i promise i won't mind.

Everyone knows that good things never last.

They spark and bloom, exploding in bright colours and loud snaps of joy, whizzing around in dizzying arrays of light. They crackle better than the best fireworks. 

But even the best fireworks burn out eventually.

They fizzle and pop until they can’t fly anymore, until they become impossible to see.

Kara knew this, she just hadn’t expected it to be so soon.

She watched in her mind’s eye, for the umpteenth time, the body drop to the floor, long dark hair pulled above it.

It had been the one time she hadn’t been able to save her.   


Her ears had rung with the sound of the gunshot, the sounds of footsteps as the assassin fled the scene, the sounds of Lena hitting the ground.

Kara remembered how her throat had closed off completely, how she hadn’t been able to breathe properly, how her chest had constricted as though there were ropes made of steel wrapping tighter and tighter around it.

She knew that Lena hadn’t died instantly, her heart was still beating, however faintly, when Kara reached her. She had dropped to the floor, grabbing Lena’s hands in her own and almost sobbing when they barely squeezed back. She’d whispered Lena’s name over and over again like a mantra, her own pulse racing as she felt Lena’s slowing.

Kara couldn’t remember much else from that moment, it had all blended together in a surge of panic and grief, but she did remember knowing, somehow, that there was too much damage for even her to fix.

She had thought, stupidly, about calling Alex, begging her to do something that would help the blood-soaked heap in her arms. But something had told her that she needed to spend every moment she could with Lena.

The blood had started to spread, soaking the ground around both of them a deep crimson. Lena’s shaking breaths were the only thing that had kept Kara from breaking down completely, kept her concentrating on not breaking the hand that she was holding, the one that had steadily lost grip with every agonizing passing second.

“Kara,” Lena had gasped, her foam eyes searching blindly for Kara’s.

“I’m here. I’m right here."   
  
“Listen,” She’d whispered, her voice barely above a strained murmur. “Kara, I love you. So much. Never forget that.”   
  
Kara had shaken her head. “No. No, stop speaking like that. You’re going to be ok-” Kara’s voice had trailed off because she knew, she wished she could have forgotten, how wrong those words had been.

Kara’s entire body had gone numb after that, including her brain. She hadn’t felt any grief or undeniable anger, only longing. Longing to see Lena stay here, with her, on Earth.

She’d already lost so much.

But despite her fruitless desperation, Lena’s eyes still glassed over, her body still went limp, and the hand Kara had been holding still became that slight bit heavier.   
  
Lena still stopped breathing.

Kara had been aware of Alex’s confused voice breaking through the cacophony of nothingness that swam through Kara’s bones and fused itself in her heart. Alex, not knowing what had happened, who asked over and over again if Kara was still there.    
  
Kara couldn’t have brought herself to answer, she couldn’t have stood up. She couldn’t do anything other than run a hand so gently over Lena’s face, closing her eyes.

_ Requiem: propter cordis abiit in domum suam _

The phrase was one she’d learnt in school what felt like ages previously. It was something she’d read in an old Shakespearian era novel they’d been forced to study. 

Kara’s body shuddered involuntarily in the cold DEO beds later that morning. Alex had tentatively asked what it meant, having heard her whisper it through the comms, and Kara had shakily disclosed.   
  
It wasn’t like it mattered anymore anyway.

_ Rest, because the heart has gone home.  _

  
  
  



	12. Storm

The sky had darkened faster than anything Alex had ever seen.

National City was prone to odd weather changes, July rain, sunny days in January, but these clouds were something else. 

Alex had been half-expecting some kind of call from the DEO to say that there was some kind of villainous, weather changing alien storming the city, but nothing had come up.  For once, she couldn’t blame somebody for the odd weather, and Alex found that it was a welcome change.

Her day had been long and strenuous, J’onn putting her in charge of fifteen new recruits was never going to end well. All she wanted to do when she got home was to relax, order pizza and watch The Shining.

All normal Wednesday night things.   


So when the low rumbles of thunder echoed outside her window just as Alex arrived home, she sighed in relief, because to her, the night had just gotten ten times better.

Alex got settled on the couch, rain pounding against the glass and only the bare bones of candles lit, smiling to herself.

Maggie had called earlier saying that she wouldn’t be home until late, and while Alex was upset that there was a chance she wouldn’t see her at all until the morning (Maggie’s definition of late wildly varied from her own), she was glad of the few hours alone.

It gave her time to think over other things.

Like one of her newest trainees, Jacobs, who had absolutely no idea what he was doing and was throwing the rest of the squad completely off-balance. And when she’d asked J’onn about why he’d been recruited, he’d simply said, “He has potential,” which was of no help to anybody and then stalked off.

Or about Kara and the ongoing list of problems she was stubbornly ignoring, like the fact that she’d been ignoring James and Winn for all their ‘Guardian-ing’ and wasn’t giving them the chance to explain. And how her Kryptonite weakness had suddenly skyrocketed recently for no apparent reason, (that was an issue that was just as much Alex’s plate as it was on Kara’s).

The lightning outside flashed, and the light seeped dramatically through the curtains making Alex jump. She’d seen the movie dozens of times and was a horror movie veteran, but even she had to admit, these were daunting circumstances.

Alex wondered briefly what Kara would actually be doing with her time. Her little sister, always the polar opposite, absolutely hated storms of any kind, and she had good reason. They always brought back... memories.

For the longest time when they were kids, Kara would crawl her way into Alex’s bed and not move until the morning, and if she was being honest, Alex missed that.

She missed the days of just sitting together and spilling all of their deepest secrets to each other. Alex felt like she hadn’t had a night alone with her in way too long, they both had girlfriends, they both lived with other people, it was just too much work.

She could easily call Kara, they could’ve easily done something that night, seeing as Kara was probably scared shitless, but she had Lena now, and Alex trusted her. Just as much as Alex had Maggie to rely on, Kara and Lena had each other, and something about that made her feel crap.

It put a pile of rocks in her stomach to think about how Lena had basically replaced her in all walks of life, and while Alex was glad that she had found someone who could do that for her, she couldn’t help but wonder if she was missing out on something.

  
Alex was glad that Kara was growing up and finding her place, but it felt kind of like she was doing it without Alex.   
  
The thunder groaned once again, and Alex pulled herself up on the couch.

Maybe she should just stop being so selfish.


	13. Patience

“Are they ready yet?”

“Have patience, Kara. I have to make a lot for you.”   
  
Kara groaned, drumming her fingers on the bench as she watched Lena flip one solitary pancake.   
  
“Lena, I could flip about four at once. It’d be so much quicker.”   
  
Lena hummed, sliding the pancake onto the overflowing plate and starting another. “That is true, but this way, I’m doing something nice for my girlfriend.”

Kara jumped up from her seat, sliding into around the bench and tried to take the spatula from Lena.    
  
“Hey, no! This is my job. Let me do this for you.” Lena said, swatting Kara’s hands away.   
  
“But it’s taking so long…” Kara drawled, jumping onto the counter behind her.

Lena stalked up to her, putting the spatula down and standing in front of Kara, pulling Kara's hands into her own.

“Kara, I love you, but you need to learn and how to wait for things.” Lena brushed her lips gently against Kara’s.

“How do you do it?” Kara hummed, pulling Lena closer to her.

“Normally, I think of the good things I'm waiting for. Or I use the boxes.”

Kara laughed, forward to kiss Lena again, but was interrupted by an odd smell.

“Lena,” she sighed, pulling away.

“Yeah?”

“The pancake is burning.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Decided to do something more lighthearted oday, so enjoy. Also quick note, I know it's probably not called a spatula, but I thought egg flipper didn't really sound good, so it's a spatula.


	14. Fly

Alex had always known that she wasn’t good enough for her mother.

Even before Kara came along, she was always under pressure to get the best mark in every project, every test, every piece of goddamn homework.

They hadn’t spoken about it out loud before Kara, but the few times she actually failed something or, god forbid, got something under a seventy-five, the look she’d gotten had been enough to know. The disappointment was worse than anything that could’ve been said.

But after Kara had arrived, and after her dad had… whatever, the look had stopped being enough. Suddenly, it was all  _ Alexandra, you need to lift your study habits, these English grades are not good enough,  _ and  _ this really isn’t good enough if you want an MD,  _ or - Alex’s favourite -  _ You need to set a better example for your sister,  _ because it was definitely the end of the world if Kara looked up to someone who had a B+ in PE.

Kara needed the perfect sister, one who had straight A’s, was in every single club the school had to offer and yet still had time to teach her English and how to be human. Someone who was always happy, who never showed any negative emotions and somehow was an attraction for every single guy that looked her way.

She needed to be perfect because, in Eliza’s eyes, Kara was perfect. Kara was from another planet and was so sweet and gentle and needed help to settle in and for some reason, it was entirely Alex’s job because while Eliza was busy with her job, Alex was still fourteen and that was exactly how she needed to be spending her time.

It was Alex’s job to help Kara because Kara  _ was _ perfect.

Kara could fly.

And as long as that was impossible for Alex, she would always come second best. She would always be trying her best to be as good, even though it could never happen. Because Alex wasn’t perfect, no matter how hard she tried, no matter how much Eliza wanted it for her. 

She could never match her sister.


	15. Laugh

English was Alex’s least favourite subject. By far.

She wasn’t a creative person, that was much more Kara’s domain. Things like music and writing were never easy, and when something wasn’t easy, Alex didn’t do it. Simple as that. It was why she’d dropped art so quickly.

The only thing that made Thursday’s double English better was Schott. By some miracle, their teacher, who was actually quite nice all things considered, had somehow put up with them talking in the back of the class almost the entire year and hadn’t separated them, which was a huge bonus.

Winn had originally been Kara’s friend, but after he’d skipped third and fourth grade - his brain was frustratingly right and left sided - he’d gotten stuck in most of her classes. They’d started sitting next to each other after he’d come over to hang out with Kara and ended up playing COD2 after Kara had gotten sick and Winn’s parents couldn’t pick him up for a few hours.   
  
Alex had joined in as soon as she’d seen his most epic headshots and knew he was up for it.

Naturally, she’d won, but they’d had a good few laughs and never looked back since.

But still, even if he couldn’t beat her at shooting people, he was still better at analysing poetry and Shakespeare. So it’s why he was more than happy to joke around with her in class whenever Alex didn’t understand what was going on, or had done it so poorly it made her sick to the stomach.

“Hey Alex,” He whispered one Friday afternoon, nudging her gently in the ribs. They were supposed to be doing some kind of writing task, but Alex had given up so long ago that she’d started drawing patterns of triangles in her margins, making each one with exact angles and symetric lines.

She looked up, her face breaking into a smile when she saw the giddy grin already on Winn’s face.

“What did the poet say to Luke Skywalker?”

Alex shrugged, keeping half an eye on the teacher sitting behind his desk.

“Metaphors be with you.”  


Alex snorted, dropping her head into her hands. She could hear Winn giggling somewhere to her right, which didn’t help her case at all. She knew it wasn’t even that funny, but she was tired and bored, and Winn just had a way of making everything hilarious.

“Danvers, Schott!” The teacher called from the front of the room, eyeing them with annoyance.

“Sorry, Mr Albert.” Winn called out, holding his hand up apologetically.

Alex didn’t much appreciate the glares her classmates gave her after that, especially since Winn wasn’t exactly ‘cool’ - skipping two grades would do that for you - but Alex wouldn’t trade it for the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know how I feel about this. Laugh is just such an uninspiring word, but oh well.


	16. Press (5 min)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now that I've neglected to mention that we're halfway through (neat-o), I feel like I should mention how much I'm enjoying this. It's pretty darn fun. Anyway, you know what else is pretty neat? My other Supergirl fanfic (shameless self-promotion)
> 
> If you don't want to know, feel free to skip ahead. No hard feelings.
> 
> If you're interested, you could check it out here on Archive (https://bit.ly/2Q0Q0IS), or if you're so inclined, it's also on Wattpad (https://w.tt/2RVhayk) or even on FF.net (https://bit.ly/2PXrtod).
> 
> If you do go on to read it, thank you by the way, I feel obligated to inform you that the first couple chapters are pretty crappy, I wrote them a long time ago, but I plan on redoing them after I finish it all up.
> 
> Aaaanyway back to your scheduled programming.

Lena always tried not to let interviews get to her. She really did.

But sometimes, when they asked about Lex or Lillian or her father, she couldn’t help it. They got to her.   
  
She knew from experience and common sense that they were only trying to get under her skin, and she never snapped. Not anymore. She’d spent so long re-modelling the entire company, her entire name, to let one question get to her.

Sometimes, in her more tired days, she would have to mentally restrain herself from yelling at the interviewer, whoever was asking the questions because, really, did they actually have no compassion?   
  
Did they have absolutely no respect for her privacy?   
  
Lena was sure that their payment would be hefty for whatever they were doing, however they were getting her mad, the snarky little questions about her intellect and her company, and while she was glad they were getting to feed themselves, she was sick of it.

Sick of the way she was always put under the boat just because of the name she carried on her back.

Sick of the imprint her parents and brother had carved into her life.


	17. Lie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oops totally forgot to add a title to yesterday’s chapter. The prompt was press.

Kara knew that something was wrong the moment she got home.   
  
Lena had whiskey in her hand for one, and she only ever drank if something was wrong. The room already smelled like burnt candles, the odd whispy scent of silent plumes of smoke.    
  
The pizza box on the table had already been emptied and the tv was muted, the only noise in the apartment was the ambient sounds of the street outside.

It was eery, how similar it seemed to normal. How everything was identical, except for the odd book in the wrong place, the golden hour of a National City autumn, the dense air that leaked into each crack and crevice of the kitchen.

Kara moved toward the couch, making each step carefully measured and precise, making sure not to step on any of the creaky floorboards, because while Lena may have owned a penthouse, she still lived in it. The apartment was still worn and harried, but also loved. It was still home.

When Kara sat carefully down next to Lena, she could tell immediately that she wasn’t drunk. Her breathing wasn’t heavy enough, her breath had none of the usual tastes of alcohol. It was like she hadn’t had any at all.

More than anything, like a dull throb in her stomach, all Kara wanted to do was lean forward the three inches between them and kiss her, make everything ok again, because while Lena wasn’t drunk, she was still clearly emotional. The redness in her eyes had nothing to do with the dying candles.    
  
As much as she wanted to, Kara knew she couldn’t. Something held her back. Told her it was wrong. So she held out her hand.

Lena pulled back.

They sat in silence for a moment, Kara waiting for Lena to talk first. There was something in the sad smile she gave Kara next that made her stomach plummet through the floor.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”   
  
Lena’s voice was hushed and hoarse, a bare whisper in the still silence of the apartment. Kara put her bag gently on the ground, again reaching out to take Lena’s hands, questions ready on her lips.

But again, Lena’s hand drew back into her stomach and again, she turned away.

“I knew.” Lena put her glass on the coffee table, meeting Kara’s eyes, and only then could Kara see the real hurt in them. “I knew the whole time.”   
  
Kara still didn’t have a clue what Lena was talking about, so she kept quiet, waiting for her to continue.

“Kara, I’m the CEO of a billion-dollar business that specialises in fucking nano-quantum technology. Do I look like an idiot to you?”

Then, the ball dropped. Kara realised what was happening. Of course Lena knew.

“The glasses don’t help do they…” Kara whispered, more out of fear than anything else. She’d seen Lena like this before, but it had never been directed towards Kara herself.

“They might on the rest of the city, but they never did on me. I know you, Kara.” Lena stopped and tilted her head ever so slightly to the left, her piercing gaze lingering on Kara for a second before dropping back to the floor. “Or I thought I did anyway.”   
  
“Lena,” Kara murmured, watching as Lena stood up, pacing the space behind the couch.

”What’s actually happening here, Kara? I waited, for so long for you… because I trusted you. I trusted that you had a reason for not telling me. And yet, every day we did this dance around the truth, just to keep your identity from the one person who already knew.”   
  
Kara sat speechless, watching Lena’s face turn a pale shade of pink. She didn’t raise her voice, not once, but she didn’t need to. She got the point across well enough.

“I need you to tell me what happened. What  _ is  _ happening. I thought this,” Lena gestured between them, “this meant something to you.”   
  
Kara stood up as well, moving to stand in front of Lena, who finally let Kara take hold of her hands.    
  
“I wanted to. I wanted to so badly, Lena, but it was so messy. Everything was falling apart, you were there, you saw-”   
  
“It shouldn’t have mattered. It’s never mattered before.” Lena looked so betrayed, so upset that Kara almost started sobbing right there. “Our lives have been as far from normal as physically possible, and it's never mattered until now.”

”Lena, you were the one normal thing left in my life. So much changed so quickly, I couldn't give that up.”

Lena shook her head and stepped back, letting her hands drop by her side.

”Kara, I couldn't trust you. I knew that you were keeping something huge from me, but who's to say you're not doing it about something else as well.”

Kara watched Lena carefully, making up her mind on the spot.

”No. You don't get to do this. You can't blame me for keeping something from you when you knew the whole time. That's not fair, Lee.”

”It's not about being fair anymore, Kara.”

Kara felt her eyes fill with tears, and saw Lena’s doing the same.

”Lena, I just wanted you to be happy. I didn't think you would appreciate being dragged into all of my Supergirl business.”

”And you think that isn't already happening?” Lena asked, her voice still sitting just above a hoarse groan. ”Supergirl or not, you're my girlfriend. I care about your wellbeing.”

There was a moment of silence, the beating of both of their hearts banging loud and clear in Kara's ears like a call to war.

”I can't do this anymore, Kara.”

Kara took the hint and grabbed her bag again, making her way silently out of the door. Only when she was on the other side did she let her tears fall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why is Supercorp always the brunt of my angst in my stuff? I don't really know, I just like picking on them I guess.


	18. Worth

The ‘Request Uber’ button glowed menacingly in the pitch-blackness of Winn’s apartment. It was still late, despite the early morning hour. He had to be at work at seven, which left him exactly four hours to do…   


To do what?   


He could re-watch The Empire Strikes Back for the third time that week, he could try to hack into the DEO main-frame, _again,_ even though knew that if he succeeded, all it would mean is that he would have to work even harder to reset the firewalls.

Or he could press that giant white button. 

He could get an uber, grabbing the bags he’d had packed for months and get a ride to the airport. He could get a red-eye flight to New York or LA, somewhere far enough that Kara wouldn’t be bothered to fly to. Somewhere that he could set up an impossible to trace, virtual barrier around himself.

Somewhere he could start again.

Because he loved his life in National City, he really did. And he loved Kara and James, but he had started to wonder how much the feeling was reciprocated. James had recently been getting antsy whenever Winn was around him, which Winn had originally pinned to Guardian business, but after James had started what would become a several month long Guardian-free stint, he was starting to wonder whether that was actually true.

And Kara. Their relationship had been strange ever since Winn had tried to kiss her, no matter how much Kara tried to pretend it wasn’t. They were awkward and their jokes were strained. There was virtually no chance that things would ever get back to the way they were.

It made him wonder if his life here was worth anything at all.   
  
Did his job actually matter when all he did was sit around and try to find random IP numbers? When the one time he’d tried to do something practical to help out, he’d almost got himself killed? Would anyone actually care if he just packed if his bags and left for good?   
  
Winn had a plan. He’d been making one for months he’d even looked at a few apartments on only his most protected pc’s. The plan covered almost everything, but really, the only thing that it didn’t cover was what he would say to everyone. He knew he couldn’t just up and leave without any explanation, but it would be one of the worst things he’d ever have to do.

How could he explain that he didn’t know what he was doing, he didn’t know how much he actually contributed every day and how much value he added to people’s lives? That he felt useless, every single day of his life because the only thing he was good at was sitting behind a computer screen and quoting movies none of the rest of them had seen.

Every day, whenever he had this conversation with himself, he always came to the exact same conclusion.

He could wait until he knew what to say.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> woopdido i don't like this


	19. Honour

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh look its a hogwarts au

“Lena, I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

Kara winced as the librarian stalked past, hissing at them to be quiet.

“Sorry,” she whispered after her before turning her attention back to Lena.

Her blue robes clashed badly with Kara’s yellow ones, but neither of them minded. Their crew, along with Alex and Maggie who were nowhere to be found, was such an odd mixture of houses that it was like the invisible boundaries didn’t even exist anymore.

The only issue with that was that on days like that one when it was cold and wet and generally unpleasant, the Great Hall was so crowded that one of the only places where they could hang out together was the library.

“You don’t know that, Kara.” Lena muttered, making sure not to take her eyes off her books. “They could march all the way up here and demand that I go home immediately.”

Kara shook her head, dropping her quill and leaning down to meet Lena’s eyes. “Lee, listen. You didn’t even fail the paper, it was only a sixty. I think the worst they’ll do is send a howler, and I can take that into the grounds and open it for you if you want. You don’t even have to listen.”

Alex and Maggie appeared from around a bookshelf, looking far too casual for Kara’s liking, and dropped into empty seats opposite each other.

“Sorry we’re late,” Alex panted, straightening her green and silver tie.

“Yeah, we got caught up.” Maggie said, dropping her books onto the table.

“Sure,” Kara muttered, groaning. Lena seemed to have taken the moment as an opportunity to forget what they’d been talking about before and was fervently taking notes on her ancient runes assignment. Kara chose to ignore it and instead turned to her sister.

“Do you know where Winn is?”

Alex shrugged, opening her bag and pulling out rolls of parchment. “When I saw him at lunch, he said something about detention with Binns.”

Maggie laughed, disguising it poorly as a cough when she noticed the glare of the librarian. “Binns gave him detention?”

“Oh yeah, I remember that.” Kara said, watching Lena out of the corner of her eye. “He hadn’t finished the homework for like a solid week or something.”   
  
“Jeez,” Alex said, trying not to giggle. “That is probably one of the least Schott things to possibly do.”   
  
Kara zoned out after that, watching Alex and Maggie bicker quietly over something, but she couldn’t help thinking about what had Lena in such a muddle. 

She knew that Lena had had a tough time when she first started at Hogwarts, mainly because her brother was such a model student that she’d had trouble living up to the name. Top of every class, he was polite to every teacher, Head Boy in Lena’s second year (Kara’s first), and in almost every club the school had to offer.

Lena was undoubtedly smart, overwhelmingly so, but everyone often underestimated her, and that had driven her to work harder and harder until she was burned out. Even after Lex had graduated, Lena still had trouble keeping up with both the school's expectations of her and her parent’s controlling nature.

Maggie’s yellow and black scarf came whizzing past Kara’s head and she jumped, watching as Alex shoved a hand over Maggie’s mouth, effectively shushing her. Kara just rolled her eyes and turned back to her own care of magical creatures essay.

“Maggie, shut up. You’re going to get us kicked out.”   
  
“Alex, if you try to tell me how to do my work one more time, I swear I will feed you to the giant squid.”   
  
Kara sighed. She knew there was a small chance that she would actually get any work done with those two around, and exams were fast approaching. Everything was just a huge mess. And while she felt like all she wanted to do was punch her older sister in the jaw, she wouldn’t trade it for the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yeesh. Maggie's house is such a disputed topic like ive read her being anywhere from gryffindor with James, to ravenclaw with Lena and Winn and to hufflepuff with Kara. Shes such a mix of everything that i just like putting her in hufflepuff to imagine her and kara being like, best friends and hanging out all the time.


	20. Temporary

Winn’s fear of pens was in every way irrational.

Whenever someone asked about it (namely Kara), he always said the same thing.

_ “It’s not the pens, it’s when people draw on themselves.” _

This always confused Kara because, if it was such a big deal, why not wash it off? But there was more to it than that. The dirty mark that would be drawn on his made him more uncomfortable than having the plague. It was so bad that he’d even threatened Alex on many occasions when she’d tried to test it out.

He wasn’t even sure where it came from. There was no bad experience or childhood trauma that could’ve possibly caused it (as was the case with most of his other fears), and he didn’t even know why it existed.

He’d looked it up. As far as he could tell, no such phobia existed, or was at least named.

Maybe he could be the first.

It had been a challenge the few times he’d been in sports teams as a kid and the rest of the team would wear competitive face paint. That was even worse than pen.

It was why, when one day Maggie showed up at the DEO with a crinkled dollar store bag and a manic grin on her face, Winn’s stomach had immediately plummeted.

Maggie pulled out a stack of temporary tattoos, all with different shaped animals to represent each of them.

There was even a dog who was wearing a little tie and sitting at a computer. Just for him.

He could feel Kara trying not to laugh from next to him, and could see Alex out of the corner of her eye look at him slightly worriedly.

Because Maggie didn’t know. She didn’t know that Winn had a thing about those sorts of stuff.

But it was that kind of moment that made Winn more worried than any other  because he knew that in this instance, Maggie’s feelings were more important than Winn’s odd, unreasonable fear.

He smiled weakly at Maggie, and he watched her face drop slightly when she noticed his expression. She looked at Alex in confusion, who made her way over quickly and whispered something in Maggie’s ear.

Kara poked him gently on the shoulder, for literally no feasible reason, but it made him laugh, which served to break the slightly awkward tension. It was clear that Maggie had been expecting some other kind of reaction, and when she hadn’t gotten it, everything had kind of gone quiet.

When Maggie smiled warmly at him, he knew that she wouldn’t force him into anything, and that she somehow understood that he was grateful for the gesture, and for that, Winn could have kissed the moon.

Because while the tattoos that she was showing Alex were temporary, and in some odd way, scary, the friendship they’d made was permanent.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew. It's been a very long day and I'm more than a little stressed.
> 
> Also, fun fact, this was completely based on my own experiences and irrational fear of pens.


	21. Wave

“We’re going to die. I swear to God, we are going to die.”   
  
Kara shook her head, shifting on the couch to get closer to Winn. “Not if you actually play properly. You haven’t set up nearly enough defences. All of your walnuts are about to crack.”   
  
Winn gestured wildly at the screen, almost dropping his controller. “Kara, we’re on the fourth wave, a zombie boss is around the corner and I only have two sun-thingy’s left.”   
  
“I’ll admit, the prospects look grim,”   


“Grim? Kara, we’re about to be slaughtered!”   


Bi-weekly Kara and Winn solo game night had finally rolled around, much needed after the past month of having to consistently postpone for various reasons. Supergirl, their jobs and family emergencies were all among the worst contenders.

Kara had arrived in Winn’s apartment to an armful of gaming choices, the only ones of which that didn’t involve the kind of violence that Kara associated too heavily with the outside world at that moment were Mario Kart, and Plants vs. Zombies. And while Mario Kart was fun, it was what they always played at group game nights, and without even saying it out loud, both Kara and Winn felt as though they were cheating on the others somehow by playing it.   
  
So Plants vs. Zombies it had been.

Kara was delighted to know that Winn had hardly ever played before, only owning the game because it had come in some free kit. She’d explained how to play, and since the learning curve was not very steep and since Winn was essentially a genius, he’d picked it up pretty quickly.

He’d taken it to heart and become much more competitive than Kara could’ve imagined possible, especially since all he was doing was protecting some random guy’s garden from zombies.

It didn’t matter though. They were having some of the most fun they’d had in a long time.


	22. Value

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is sappier than a five hundred year-old tree.

Maggie didn’t consider herself a very materialistic person.

She had few prized possessions, no inordinate amount of money, or the desire to gain massive collections of either.

She did have a few things that she treasured, however, but they were all people. All of her friends, the people who’d stepped into her family’s shoes when they’d decided they’d outgrown her. The people who accepted her out of nowhere, no matter who she was.  
  
The people she loved more than anything else in the world.

Alex, the girl who hadn’t exactly shown her the true way of living, but had enriched everything and saturated every possible moment with joy and content. Alex, who had been so fresh-eyed and new, so hopelessly shiny and yet mysterious that Maggie had been almost sure it wasn’t going to work.

The girl who had proved time and time again that she was ready and mature enough to be serious. Who was so beautiful, inside and out, who made every second of Maggie’s life a thousand times better, even if they weren’t in the same room.

Her sister, warm and bright, almost the complete opposite when you got to know them both. Kara, who worked harder than anyone to protect the world and her family, who had a bond with Alex that was tighter than any Maggie had ever seen before. Kara, whose one and only goal was to be there for others and to support whoever she could.  
  
Winn, who was such a huge nerd that everyone had to love him. The guy whose vocabulary existed only of Star Wars quotes and whose bookshelf only held Harry Potter. Whose heart was so sweet and kind, gentle and honest. The guy who didn’t always know exactly what to say or do, but who kept everyone’s best interests at heart all of the time.

And even Lena, whom Maggie had begun to grow closer to. Lena, who was so incredibly smart and logical, who could help with almost any problem that existed on the planet. The girl who knew where she was going and always kept an eye on the goal, never failing to reach it.

Maggie didn’t think she was materialistic, but she had so many things worth more than their weight in gold.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I guess this wasn't really going anywhere, and that's kind of because initially, i wanted to take it down a much darker path but decided against it.


	23. Bridge (5 min)

The bridge was deserted for the time of night it was.

The sun was only just setting over the lake, providing Alex and Kara with a spectacular view.

Midvale’s summer had not disappointed and Eliza had shoved them outside, forcing them on a “super sister bonding walk.”

Neither of them were entirely opposed to the idea, Alex was actually excited. Kara hadn't seen the bridge before.

“It's so pretty.”

Alex nodded, grinning. “Golden hour's really doing it justice.”

The was a pause, not exactly awkward, but not quite comfortable. Alex knew that Kara wanted to talk.

“I’m scared, Alex.”

Alex frowned. “Of what?”

“Everything.” Kara said, her voice shaking.

Sighing, Alex throwing a stone into the river, watching it flow further and further down, flipping and jumping across bigger rocks.

“Me too, Kara.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> is this good? nup.


	24. Silence

For many, silence meant only good things. 

The solitude of an empty apartment, the hope of yet to be spoken words, the calm after the never-ending storm.

But for Alex, silence only meant bad.

Bad, because when it was silent, that was when her mind had permission to wander. If there was quiet, she had the chance to remember that in her childhood home, silence could only signal something wrong. The waves had been a constant outside her bedroom window, Kara, after her arrival, became added background noise. Even the hum of her old desktop computer had been enough.

If there was silence, Alex began to think too much. 

It was why her life was filled with so much noise. The hustle of the DEO, the orders she shouted at recruits and strike agents, the ringing of gunshots on the field, the sound of her fists striking the bag in the training rooms.

Her apartment always had music. When asked, she said it was to make the place feel more homely, although it was clear to anyone who entered that Alex wasn’t concerned about making herself at home. The well-decorated interior gave way to no personal embellishments and looked more like a display apartment than an actual house.

Alex worked with headphones if she could, if she wasn’t needed elsewhere. She could blast whatever she wanted and no one would be any the wiser. No matter what she was thinking about, she knew that the blur of punk rock that she still hadn’t quite grown out of and the odd Queen song mixed in would quench any threat of disturbance.

Because disturbance equalled bad, but so did silence. And when one led to the other, there was a simple solution at hand.

Maggie hadn’t thought it was healthy, but neither had Kara, and Alex had convinced Kara that she was fine so often that it was just second nature by that point.

A simple  _ I enjoy my scrambled notes _ here and there tended to bode better than  _ I’m using this to cover up that if there wasn’t anything happening in my brain right now, I would probably implode. _

Alex wasn’t ok, but if she could do something so simple to just play make-believe for one more day, dress up in another, happier person’s clothes, it was a sacrifice that had to be made.


	25. Bullet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so this is basically an alternate way of Lena finding out Kara is Supergirl bc i love thinking about this.

Lena knew she should’ve hired the extra security guards.

Because now that LCorp was under fire, her workers were under danger, and Kara was standing completely helpless in her office, Lena was beginning to second guess her decision.

“Lena, when were you going to tell me Lex was after you?”

Lena moved to the windows, closing the curtains and pressing a button under her desk that sent the building into lockdown.

“I would've thought it was obvious considering the several assassination attempts he's made towards me,” Lena said just as sirens starting blaring through the corridors outside the office.

Kara moved towards the door, easily pushing open the locked, steel reinforced door, which was more than a little impressive. But also worrying. Because there were people with guns who were looking to murder outside.

“Kara, wait. You can't go out there!”

“Yeah, but,” Kara paused, trying to find the right thing to say. “We need to be out there helping people.”

“And get yourself killed? I don’t think so.”

Kara stepped defeatedly back into the room, which slightly confused Lena. She knew that Kara had a huge tendency to help others above all else, but this was slightly ridiculous. Why was she disappointed about not being allowed to head into the line of fire completely unarmed and defenceless?   
  
Which reminded Lena of something else. Jacob Fisher, her head of security. If she could find him and get the rundown of the protection he was reinforcing…

Lena moved towards the door, walking past Kara and straight into the corridor. She turned at the last minute and pointed her finger threateningly back at the only other occupant of her office.

“Stay here.” She said. “The last thing I want is for you to get hurt.” 

“No. Absolutely not. Safety in numbers.”   
  
Lena sighed.    
  
“Ok, but we have to keep each other safe, no big heroic actions, yeah?”   
  
Kara swallowed. 

“Yeah.”

The sirens stopped blaring at that exact moment, which could mean one of exactly two things. One, someone had gotten to the main switchboard and shut it off, and the threat be diminshed, or two, the siren had timed out. Somehow, Lena’s gut was telling her that the latter was far more likely.

A pair of hands grabbed Lena’s shoulders and pushed her against the wall, being sure she didn’t hit it too hard. She looked up at Kara breathing heavily, inches from her face.

“Someone’s coming,” Kara muttered as she flattened on the wall next to Lena.

Lena didn’t even have time to look up before Lex himself came strolling casually around the corner, revolver in his hands. 

He didn’t spot Lena immediately, but when he did, his grin was wide. Manic. Lena stood up straighter to face him.

“Lena, sweetheart, you look so tired. This company is driving you insane.” He leered, ignoring Kara altogether. “I can tell.”   


“Prison hasn’t been good for you, either,” Lena said, gesturing to the scrabbly half-beard and the scars on his face. She could sense Kara tensing behind her, but willed her not to move. She had to trust that Kara understood that if she tried to intervene or run, she would die.

“You know, it doesn’t have to be like this, Lee. You could always come with me.” Lex smirked as though he knew he needent ask the question, as though he already knew the answer.

Lena paused, completely taken aback. She’d expected it, of course she’d expected the question, but it was so blunt. She’d hoped for some kind of fancy build up or something at least. 

“Where’s all that Luthor flair? You haven’t even threatened to destroy my company yet.”

“It doesn’t matter. I knew you wouldn’t say yes. This is honestly just my last hurrah.” He flipped the revolver in his fingers, pointing it up at the ceilling and firing it once with a deafening crack. “Wanted to go out with a bang.”   


He was mad. He was actually mad. Kara stepped foward to be next to Lena, but Lena pushed her back, wincing as Kara tripped over, hitting the floor hard. She sat up, not getting to her feet.

“What are you on about?” Lena asked, her ears ringing from the gunshot.

“If I go down, you’re going down with me.”

Lena froze as she was suddenly staring down the barrel of the revolver. Completely surprised, she raised her arms in surrender, stepping backwards slowly. When she finally got a distance between her and Lex, it seemed like he’d had enough of whatever the hell was happening, and his finger tightened on the trigger.

What happened next, Lena still can’t decipher.

There was another resounding bang and in a flash of green and black, Kara was standing in front of her, doing something with her hands that Lena couldn't see. Gunshot after gunshot rang out and Lena stood paralysed.    
  
Kara was taking every single one of them.

Lex soon ran out of bullets and bolted without another word. A clang of metal on wood rang out through the corridor as each of the bullets that had been fired dropped to the floor. Lena half expected to see Kara crumple to the floor, blood spurting from a million places on her body, but Kara stood there motionless, her hands curled into fists.

Not knowing what to do with herself, Lena caught Kara’s eyes and was startled to find tears puring out of them from behind her glasses.

“I’m sorry, Lena.”   
  
Lena just shook her head, watched as Kara took off her glasses, her identity. It didn’t matter to Lena.

Even if Kara was Supergirl.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the start was literally just a copy of when Mercy Graves broke into LCorp at the start of season four but i actually dont care. that scene was fucking hillarious.


	26. Whisper

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oops i totally forgot to put this out yesterday, my bad. I hope we have no hard feelings hehhe. Anyway so here is chapter 1/2 for today.

Sun poured through the window and spilled onto the bed. 

Arms and legs tangled under the covers, birds outside oddly silent for the morning.

Maggie stirred, dislodging Alex from on top of her, and rolled over, groaning. Her body felt like it was stuck somewhere between the week before and the next day and she threw her head into the pillow, the last dregs of a distorted dream that had something to do with coffee creamer drained out of her mind.

Alex moved from next to her, her hand reaching out for the spot where Maggie had been. She mumbled something that Maggie couldn’t understand and shifted so that they were facing each other. Her eyes opened the tiniest bit, scrunching up at the corners.

“Morning, Mags,” Alex grunted, her voice thick with morning-ness.

Maggie grinned, her eyes still adjusting to the ungodly brightness of the bedroom. Her gaze shifted around the room, noticing the clothes at the foot of the bed, the gun on the dresser and,  that the curtains sat wide apart, not doing shit to block the sun.

“The curtains are open,” She pointed out groggily. Alex nodded as much as she could for her head being smushed against a pillow.

“I think I forgot last night. I didn’t get back until later then I thought.”   
  
“I know,” Maggie whispered, realising how cold winter mornings got and moving to get closer to Alex again under their abundance of blankets.

“Maggie,” Alex opened her eyes fully and Maggie could appreciate how beautiful they looked that early with the different shades of brown and gold mixing into one uniquely elegant piece of art. “I told you not to wait up for me.”

“Mhm, I know.” Maggie murmured, brushing a stray hair out of Alex’s face. “I was worried.”   
  
“I love you, Mags.”


	27. Perhaps

“Perhaps, the meaning of life is not something that can be discovered, but something that can only be dwelled upon and inspire us to create it ourselves.”   
  
Kara knew that taking the psychology elective was a stupid idea. Eliza had said it would be interesting and could somehow help her understand the human mind more, but so far, Kara hadn’t discovered any major differences between their brain and her own, except that humans had an unnecessary habit of making things harder than they needed to be.

It was all very frustrating.   
  
She was trying her best to pay attention, really, but it was just so difficult when the teacher kept going on and on about  _ conceptualizing _ , and  _ being in touch with your emotions. _

“Really, all that matters in this world, dear friends, is the true definition of  _ human. _ Maybe we, as humans, need to exercise our rights to freedom, because, by definition, humans are characterised by superior mental development and the power of articulate speech.”

 

Not to mention that her teacher was an absolute nutcase. Nothing he said ever correlated to the previous sentence, and to her, it was all some big jumble of nonsensical junk. The more she tried to understand, the harder it became.

“Because perhaps, as humans, we should be using that power to stand up for ourselves and fight for what we see is right. Let me ask you, how often do you go out and see miscarriages of justice? Someone stealing, or discriminating another for the colour of their skin. What do you do to fix that? Nothing.”

Confusing as they were, at least these random hour-long lectures were slightly entertaining. The odd sentences made for great practice at deciphering human speech patterns and extended English vocabulary, so maybe her teacher was actually doing his job, just not in the right way.

“Go forth students, and know that however you proceed in life, know that your greatest gift is that of a voice and that of your opinions. Use them wisely and don’t waste these beautiful assets that many take for granted.”

Kara started to pack up her books, taking her cue from the rest of the class. The last period was always the worst, her brain always feeling like it was functioning at minimum capacity, but at least now she had ice cream to look forward too.


	28. Hope

Kara was really some kind of beacon.   
  
She was so bright and peppy that everyday, she inspired so many people around her that Alex almost considered it sickening. Almost. 

Even after everything in her life, all of the loss, the betrayel, the sadness, she was still this bright sun that everyone around her could look to when they needed their own dose of happiness. It was a mark of how strong of a person she was, and Alex knew that this kind of character hadn’t come by accident.

Alex was sure that Supergirl, the determined, do what needs to be done, kind of girl was exactly who Kara would have been if she had remained on Krypton. If she had grown up on her home planet, with both of her parents and her entire world, things would have been different.

Kara wouldn’t have been forced to grow up so quickly.

If she hadn’t been required to step up to the plate, she wouldn’t have had to be her own source of happiness. She wouldn’t have been made to give herself hope when everything around her was pushing her down.

And this was where Supergirl had come from. Most would say that it ran in the family; the justice seeking, crime fighting nature. Both Kara and Kal had such distinct strands of this desperate desire to change Earth for the better that those people wouldn’t be wrong. But Alex knew better. She knew exaclty how that passion, even naivity, had stemmed from their own personal uprbringings.

Kara’s childhood had forced her to make positivity where there was none, find hope where there seemed only to be the last torn peices of despair.

The kind of hope that could make any one person believe in themselves.


	29. Ice (5 min)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok i know that today isnt friday, but since tomorrow is the last day, i wanted to end it on something i could put time into. so this is whats happening today, and im still pretty happy with it if im being honest.

“Ah, ah, fuck.”   
  
Alex redoubled her grip on Winn’s arm as they shuffled blindly down the dark corridors.

“Winn, it can’t be that bad. We need to be going faster.”   
  
“Dude, my ankle is broken, I’m going as fast as I can.”   
  
Alex was already aware of this. She’d taken one look at it back on the field and known that it was broken, but there was nothing she could do about it until they got back. So, purely for Winn’s sake, she had pretended it wasn’t actually that bad, while simultaneously not letting him put any pressure on it.

It really had been kind of heroic. When you’re jumping to push someone out of the way of a spray of bullets that definitely would have killed them, even if you land at completely the wrong angle which could have been prevented with some simple safety training, it was always going to look good.

Especially if you’re jumping in front of Alex.

Anyone who jumps in front of Alex gets an automatic pass into the family photo album, but since Winn was already pretty much there, the most he would be getting until the whole Daxamite ordeal was over is a pat on the back and some ice. 


	30. Almost

The sky shone ahead in a washed gradient of reds, oranges and pinks, all mixing together in a bright overhead projection of beauty.

Maggie sat in the passenger seat of J’onn’s blue convertible, half-asleep, ears trying to discern the soft harmonies of Ed Sheeran’s newest album from the rushing of the wind that flew past the open hood.

Alex sat in the driver's seat, her hands only loosely on the wheel. It was some kind of a miracle that Kara had let her drive, but she had been so tired that Alex wasn’t about to let Kara swap anytime soon. She had a feeling she was more comfortable curled up with Lena in the back seat anyway.

The drive back from Midvale wasn’t actually that long, only a rough three hours, but they left Eliza’s later than anticipated, and they’d been so exhausted that they were happy to just relax and not think about the next few days.

For Alex though, this was the perfect time to think. They were out on the open road together, basically alone and there was a lot to think about. All of their lives were about to get a lot more busy over the next few months, with Kara and Maggie both getting massive promotions and Lena’s underground research going through a promising influx in positive results.

Everything was about to get a lot harder, and somehow it felt like to Alex, the next chapter of all of their lives was just about to begin. The easy part was over, but they were adults now, they needed to be mature as fuck and honestly, it sucked.

The week in Midvale had been probably one of the best decisions ever made. A week of nothing but beach and friendships, and the perfect chance for them all to get the hell away from whatever was happening back in National City.

Alex’s hair flew backwards in the wind and she turned a sharp corner, making Maggie stir.

“We almost there yet?” She mumbled, barely loud enough for Alex to hear.

Alex smiled when Maggie rolled over as best she could in the car seat, not even bothering to hear the answer to her question. Glancing at Lena and Kara in the back, she watched them move with the road, Kara cuddling up to Lena, both of them tangled in each other.

“Yeah, almost.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that's it. I'm sad that it's over, this was actually so much flippin fun. Tomorrow theres gonna be a kinda conclusion update with some thoughts and notes and whatever. If you feel like reading it, go ahead, if not, thanks for the journey, kiddos. Its been a bumpy one.


	31. Conclusion

Hi so thanks for sticking around for this adventure. This is honestly something I'm super proud of, and obviously there were some chapters that were better than others, but I'm pretty happy with most of them.

I've really learnt a lot from doing this and it wasn't like inktober were I was getting really annoyed doing them all every single night. I was writing for a fandom that I could really feel and write convincingly for, and I was inspired every single night.

I realised around day four that even though I was posting all the chapters on the right Australian dates, it was very highly likely that most of the people who were reading the story were getting it what seemed like a day early, or a few hours after twelve or whatever.   
  
My apologies to anyone who read it like that, I’m glad and sincerely thankful that you managed to make it this far without getting fed up with my off the wall schedule.

I think if I got any, I might be open to doing like, I dunno, maybe some requests? If that feels like that’s a good idea, let me know.

K bye.


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